Red River Army Depot in Bowie County, TX

Red River Army Depot is a 3,000,000 square foot storage facility located in Texarkana, Texas on a 15,835 acre space. Created in 1941, the depot was steadfastly involved in the United States military supplies since World War II. Twice the base faced possible closure, once in 1995 and again in 2005, but remained in operation both times. Today the base primarily focuses on repairing military HUMVEE’s and and MRAP’s.

Texarkana Regional Airport is the closest air strip to the depot, and the closest international airport is Dallas-Fort Worth at about 2 and a half hours. Amtrak also has a station in Texarkana, Arkansas which is only a 30 minute drive from base.

Summers in Texas are understandably hot. In Texarkana, the average is about 95 °F in the summer and about 55 °F in the winter. The area gets about 50 inches of rain per year and can produce some powerful storms. In one recorded incident in 2008, two thunderstorms converged together which produced microbursts of wind up to 100 miles per hour. Snow is very rare in this section of the country, but not alien to Red River which sees an average of 2 inches each year.

History

The Army Depot was created in 1941 when the Federal Government purchased 116 farms for its creation. Over the years it has held everything from bombs, guns, ammunition, to combat vehicles. From its first day of activation through the last day of 1945 the depot saw collectively four trillion pounds of materials. The most notable change which occurred at Red River was in the 1950’s and 1960’s it became an army missile assembly and maintenance center. In the 1970’s roughly fifty buildings were erected on base for work regarding missile maintenance. In the 1990’s the depot had about 4,300 civilian and military personnel.

Schools and Education

Public Schools local to Red River Army Depot, their websites, and contact information are listed below.

Texarkana Independent School District - 903-794-3651

Liberty-Eylau Independent School District - 903-832-1535

Pleasant Grove Independent School District - 903-831-4086

Texarkana College has a wide variety of programs ranging from liberal arts to STEM, healthcare, business, and continuing education.

Banking

The Red River Federal Credit Union has online banking as well as checking and loan programs which are available to Red River employees.

Lodging and Hotels

There are many hotels close to the Army Depot which have been rated favorably online. Most of these hotels are very inexpensive and are close to Red River. Holiday Inn & Suites New Boston and Hilton Garden Inn Texarkana average at  $109 per night. Fairfield Inn and Suites Texarkana  and Town Place Suites by Marriott Texarkana are  both roughly $76. Comfort Suites  costs on average $62 and Candlewood Suites Texarkana  at $66 nightly. Lastly, Country Inn and Suites by Radisson, Texarakana  costs around $73 per night. These are just a few of the hotels near the depot. The options for nightly stays are plentiful.

Additionally, Red River has on base very luxurious cabins which are featured with full kitchens and television which rent between $65 and $125 dollars per night depending on the size of cabin.

Morale, Welfare, and Recreation

The depot has access to a lake which can only be accessed by those with military ID or Park Permit, making it relatively quiet and personal. There is a lake with swimming areas and a volleyball court at this location. A sizable playground and a “Splash-Pad” mini water park is also on site for those with young children.

Free gym passes are available to all military ID holders both active and retired. Temporary and Annual Fishing Permits can also be obtained through Country Store found on base.

Discounted tickets are available to personnel for the following locations: Dollywood, Splash Country, Fort Worth Zoo, Medieval Times Dallas, Six Flags Texas & Hurricane Harbor, Disney Land, Disneyworld, Sea World San Antonio, and Branson Showboat.

Things to Do

Holiday Springs Water Park is a fun location for the whole family or a few friends to visit on a typical hot Texas day. Spring Lake Park has a multitude of trails, fishing docks, and Frisbee golf for a relaxing out away from base. Bringle Lake Park has many of the same amenities. The Texarkana Museum Systems has several interesting spaces which showcase the region as well as an interesting house which is considered to be one of the most interesting architecturally in the United States. Texarkana conveniently straddles the state line of both Texas and Arkansas and as a result has events going on in both states. For updated information, please visit Texarkana’s Home Page.